Road planer



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 i R. BRQWNSON ET AL RQAD'PLANER Filed Deo. 1, 1921 May 1l 1926.

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ROAD PLANER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May .11 ,19:26.l l

. R. BROWNSON ET AL May ll 1926.

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ROAD PLANER Filed Dec. 1. 1921 4 Sheetsf-Sheet 3 fMay 11 192e. 1,583,776

R. BROWNSON ET AL ROAD PLANER Filed neg; 1, 1921 F154 sheets-sheet 4 Patented May 1l, 1926.

UNITED` STATES PATENT ,OHFICEz RALPH :BRoWNs-oN AND THEODOREVA, 4ianoWNsoNy or` nAsTINGsfiitINNEsorA, AssrGNoRs To n. BnoWNsoN & eoMPnNY, or nAs'rINes, MINNESOTA, AconronA- TION OF MINNESOTA.

v ROAD PLANER.

Application med December 1, 1921. serial No, 519,104. v'

the road, may be planed 0E, under the conf trol ofV a long unbroken straight runner so that the crests of two or more waves may be simultaneously subjected to a planning action, thereby surfacing the.y road to nearly its original contour, whetherthe contour` be" straight or of irregular curvature. 4

Road planers designed to be dragged on runners, and having transversely arranged teeth extending belowr the runners and arranged at one particular point intermediate the ends of the runners cannot be guided by the runners as a straight edge, to cut parallel to the original contour ofl the road, because as each hillock or wave crest iscut 0H, the

trailing portion' of the runners, ride more,`

or less on the rubble left behind, sometimes cutting into the rubble, and at other times riding over the top thereof, thus kcausing the cutting action of the teeth to Vconstantly vary. 'c

Where a single group of teeth or cutters are employed as in the'machine just referred to, the front end of the planer, is either lifted from the ground, or rides' on the hillock ahead of the teeth, often lifting the knives entirely out of contact with the ground. By having relatively long runners, and the groups of teeth separated an appreciable dis" Vtance on theunderside of the runners, the entire device may at times be supported entirely on two or, more groups of teeth, so that two or more high places in the road will be cut at the same time. Obviously, the

resultant cut of the several groups of teeth will more nearly approach the originalconfy tour of the road,than would the vacillating cut made by a single group of teeth at the center of a long frame.v

It is a further object of the invention, to

l provide aplaner' which will be relatively long and havea purality of spaced groupsY of cutting elements, controlled as to depth,

by a pair of runners ush with the under side of the frame, so that an abnormally high "n hillock may be subjected to several cutting operations in traveling the length of the machine. Y

, The operation of a short planer,-equipped with a single group of cutters, as compared 'to the present invention, may belikened to the operation of hand planes used by amechanic. The mechanic, in practice, whenitis de- *sired to straighten the crookededgeiof a board, ordinarily uses :the 'jack-plane,` which 1s' used to rrough down theY highplaces; he

- then, ac-cording to common practice, uses a foreplane, which isappreciablyllonger than the jack plane, to render the' edge perfectly straight'. j. c

rlhe reason the jack plane isnt vused for inal straightening; is because itis so short thatit tends' to cut deeper in spots'and thus produce inaccurate work, whlefthe foreplane, being appreciably longer will cut the high places only, though it may require vmore strokes and longer time L In applicants roadplaner, the cutters may be set and not changedtforboth roughing and liinishing, the device being so= efficient Ythat it affords many economicfadvantages,

even though an eXtra cutting action-may be necessary.-

`Afurther object of applicantsl invention is to provide a long planer, having a plurality of groups of teeth, for the purpose of expediting the work and enabling a relatively small bite to be `taken in the yprocess of planing...` Y l A still further' object of providing a plurality of separate'groups of-teeth, is to prevent side-swiping ofthemachine, as often occurs on planers having but a single cutting element. This side-swiping, is the result of the teeth at'one side of the machine, meeting .with greater resistance than they teeth on the f opposite side, thus,ftending. to swing the-entire machine bodily in a horizontal plane. By having twoor more groups of teeth, side swipingv rarelyv occurs, because one group serves as an'anchor to prevent the machine from rotating around the other group. f

A still further object of the invention is the provision ofa planer of the class described, which is adaptedto be vrun in either direction without turning the machine around, and which is equipped with a truck, connected by vertically yieldable connecting mechanism, in such a manner as to be capable of being raised bodily from the ground "andithereby be supported by said truck,

whereby it maybe transported from place to place, andhaving means, whereby said truck mechanismfmay be utilized asvballast when Iof Figure i2.

it is Adesiredijtol1-ave greaterl downward pressure on the teeth.

It is a further object of the invention to provide planerleeth, which will require Vno specialsharpeningmat lall, ycan .be readily and conveniently adjusted as to depth, by unskilled attendants, and can be made of bars of relatively small cross section, owing to the novel construction ofH the :support in which they are mounted.

'Other objects. of the invention will appear #throughout the-specification, the invention 'consisting 1n the construction, combination of cut-ting 'teethr'in'operativel position, and

Ithe truck ridingas aftrailer over the ground.

'Figure 5,;is-aA vertical sectional-'view on line 5-5 of Figure f4.

VFigure 6,?:is vafvertical sectional view on linel --ofFigure 2.

VFigure 17, `isa :side view `of 'the locking lever-forming partof the raising and lowering imechanism.

Figure 8, is an end View of` same.

AFigure '9,1 isa sectionalviewon. line 9-9 Figure 10, .ais `a sectional -view on? line '10-10 of Figure 9.

yFigure '11, is a :fragmentary view ofk part of the raising and lowering mechanism.

'Figure' 12, :is 'a "fr: i'gmentary'- perspective view of part of'thefplanin'g' vframeshowing one ofthe cutting-teeth.

Figure 13, is a 'vertical sectional view :on line '1S-413 of Figure '112.

Figure 14,-is afvertical sectional'view on .line 1'4-14fof Figure 9, 'showing .thesciaper blade :in upswung'position.

Figure 15,is sa side. View lofFigure 11.

Figure 4$16, 4is `a sectional View onA line 16.-f16.of Figure' 13, showing the manner :in which the road Ais broken faway .by limpact with the .boss :on -ithe .underside of thegplaning: frame,

Figure 17, is aside elevation of .the truck raising amechanism, and

Figure 18 isafplan view of same.

The finventioncomprises (Fig. 1), :a `road tplaning frame A, a .truck B,y and-raising *.mechanism G'dforraising,v said .planing frame. .The -planing"frame A, `comprises relatively `long side-rails 1,preferablyiformedfof channel iron, :said: side. rails-being parallel and held: .spaced v,by tfth'espreader .rods 2, located sa djacent-xthefen'ds of the 'fr-ame.

Intermediate said rods, the side rails are .Afirmly connected by the cross beams 3 3, 13 and 3, of which we employ four in the machine shown. These cross beams are 'spaced symmetrically, on either side of the v.7, said. wheels being preferably rotatably l`mounted on the-axle 4, the latterr extending abovefand across the :platfoim6,-the wheels beingofa diameter, .to afford a relatively 4wide space a ('Fig. 5) between Ithe platform and lthe axle.

While 'wehaveshown the kwheels located inside `the vrails 1, we may extend the axle -and mount them on thefoutside ofthe rails.

As shown,the outer ends of theaxle'are firmly'secured in the arms-8,-the .flatter having pivotal connection 9,-infthe brackets 10. The .pivots 9, in said brackets are positioned above the siderails y1, to which said brackets are firmly-secured,

The arms-8,` extend beyond the axle 4, and .have vpivotal connections 11, by means ofthe cross Irod 12, withthe fulcrumed levers 13. The short arms of -said levers have. pivotal `connections 1.4, with-the vertical compensating links 15, said links having pivotal support 16, onthe side .rails 1. The long arms ofthe levers 13 extend over and beyond the axle 4, preferably .in vertical `alinement with 'fthe side rails Y 1, the outer free ends,

thereof, being' loc-ated adjacent the pivotal supports 9,/o'f thearms 8, and 4vbetween said pivotal support and the Wheels.

Obviously, a downward pull at the-outer end of` said lever .will rotatefthearms 8 about :the'axle 4, 'thereby` exerting an upward pulll13, the raisingand lowering mechanism C is.

provided. rlhe mechanism 1C, comprises a housing formed .in Apart, of frame members 16;and 17, wherein '1s mounted in parallelism withthe side'rails 1, the shaft 18 Rotatably mounted on the shaft, is the spui gear 19, .positioned preferably midway betweenfthe housing members 1G and 17, said .gear being formed. on` opposite sides with winding `drums 20. Mounted in the housing above said gear, parallel with the shaft r 18,is thelshaft 21 upon which isrigidly mounted the rpinion V22, which Vvmeshes with the spur gear 19, said shaft carrying at its V being attached to the drums by means yof the clips' 25 (Fig. 11), said cables being wound in opposite directions'on said drums', so that a turning movement of the spur gear will either wind or unwind said cables as the case may be. The cables extend from the drums, respectively, to the side rails, and to the respective pulleys 25, which latter arc mounted on the upper edge of the side rails, said cables then extending upwardly and having connection at their upper ends with the eye bolts 27, which latter extend verti cally through the outer ends of the levers 13, and are threaded at their outer ends to receive nuts whereby the cables may be adjusted to vary their lengths. Thus, when the hand wheel 23 is rotated in a direction opposite that indicated by the arrow, (Fig. the cables will be caused to unwind,there by causing the levers 13 and the armsS to be actuated, inasmuch as the weight of the planer frame is supported by said levers and arms. Y

The frame may in this manner be lowered unt-il it rests upon the ground, it being intended that the cables be permitted to slacken slightly so that when'the planer frame,

. is caused to be dragged bodily over the ground, the supporting wheels 7, will cease functioning as a frame support, but will still support the lever and arms 13 and 8, said levers and arms being free (owing to the slack in the cables) to move upon their pivots in response to the irregular vertical movement of the wheels over the ground.

The wheels B, the axle 4, and the arms and levers 13 and 7 may be termed collectively a truck, the arms'and levers constituting the side rails of the frame of the truck and each of said rails may be said to consist of a pair Iof fulcrumed levers, one being fulcrumed on the swinging end of the other, as for instance the levers 13 having pivotal connections 11, on the outer swinging endsof the arms 8, both of said levers being pivotally connected at their lifting ends to the planer frame, asby means of the pivots 9 and 14.

For the purpose of holding' the planer frame in raised position the locking lever 28 isl provided. This lever issupported on the platform 6 by means of a bracket sup-1 porting the pivot r29, and is preferably U- shaped, one leg of the U constituting an operating lever 30, and the other leg thereof being formed with a hook 31, adapted to hook over any selected armv of the spur gear19, as is best shown in Figures 1 and 5 of the drawings. Thus, as stated in the foregoing, the truck will trail within the Y frame, the wheels thereof riding over the lplaned surface when they are mounted as shown, or upon the outside ol the rails when they are mounted upon the outside of the frame. 'lt frequently occurs, however, that a greater downward pressure is desirable, as for instance on hard shale roads.

For the purpose of meeting this situation, means is provided whereby the pressurue on. the ground due to the weight of the truck may be conveniently and readily trans` ferred to the frame.

As described in the foregoing, the coustruction shown, affords a space a between the axle and the platform (i. Hinged in this space, under theaXle 4, by means ofthe hinges 32, so as to swing in a vertical transverse plane with respect to the'planer frame, are the cam plates 33 said cam `plates lying flat upon the platform and having upwardly extending operating levers 34, 'whereby said cam plates may be swung upwardly upon their hinges.

The distance from the outer edge 35 of the cam plates, to the pintle of the hinge 32, is sufficiently greater than the space a. to eli1 ect'a raising of the wheels and the axle from the position shown in Figure 5, to the `position shown in Figure (i, (wherein they `peripheries of the wheels are shown raised above the under side of the planer frame) when the cam platesare moved from the position shown in Figure 5, lto the position shown in Figure 6, wherein the cam plates are shown in vertical position. Obviously, the edge 35, engages the underside of the shaft 4 and cams it upwardly when the cam plates are moved into vertical position, lor on dead center, whereby the wheels are raised from the ground. Thus, the weight of the truck is shifted from the ground to the planer frame.

For the purpose of conveniently throwing the levers ofi dead center, foot actuated tripping mechanism is provided. This tripping mechanism consists of a rocking beam .54,"

`side thereof. At opposite end of the beam is pivotallymounted the vertical standard 56, carrying at its top the cross bar 5'?,`

which latter extends underneath the levers 34 and beyond opposite sides thereof, so

that when the fulcrumed beam is actuated,

the 'bar 57 will raise the levers and throw them off of dead center. Thus, the truck will be readily lowered to the ground withy out requiring the operator to leave his position at the winch. In Fig. 5, the locking lever 28 is shown in engagement with an arm of the spur gear, for the purpose of illustrating the manner of locking the planing. frame in elevated position, though Figs. 4` and 5 illustrate the positions the parts assume,

when the truck is riding on the ground', at which time the locking lever is out of engagement with the spur gear, as the cables are supposed to be slightly slackened as stated inthe foregoing. v

In Fig. 1, ofthe drawings, the planer frame is slightly elevated from the ground, the locking hook being shown in engagement to hold the frame elevated. The cross rod or strut 2, of the planer frame, is firmly secured in the webs of the side rails adjacent the. lower leg of the channel as shown in Fig. 10. Spaced inwardly from and located above said rod, and extending parallel therewith, is the rod 36, which constitutes the pintle upon which is rotatably mounted the scraper supporting beam 37, upon which the beam may be swung as shown in Fig. 4. The rod 2 constitutes a stop, against which the beam r'ests when the beam is in vertical position. A scraper blade 38, secured to the beam, by means of the bolts 39, extends beyond the lower face of the planer frame, and functions as a scraper to scrape the surface of the road, after it had been planed by the teeth in advance of the blade. Centrally, the blade is provided with a perforated lug 40, to which is attached a pull chain 41, connected to the outer end of the short arm 42 of the fulcrumed lever 43, the fulcrum 44 of said lever, being supported on the cross beam 3.' By the operation of the lever, the scraper blade may be swung upon its pintle to inoperative position. As shown, a scraper blade of substantially similar construction is provided at both ends of the planer frame, so that when the planer is being operated in one direction, the forward blade will trail over the ground, while the rear blade will scrape the road. The cutting or planing elements of the machine, consist of a plurality of vertically disposed teeth 45, distributed throughout the length of the planer frame, and, in the machine shown, are divided into four groups, each of the beams 3 3, 3 and 3 supporting one of the groups. In Figs. 12 and 13, the beam 3, here shown, is typical of all the cross beams 3 3, 3 and 3, the beam consisting of a fiat horizontal web 46, having a verticalv longitudinal central rib 47, the beam being bolted firmly to the side rails l, by means of bolts in the end flanges 48.

Spaced uniformly throughout the length of the beam, and alternately on opposite sides of the web 47, are the bosses 49, each boss having a corresponding boss 50 in alinement on the underside of the web 46, said boss being conic and circular, whereby a considerable thickness is secured through which the teeth 45 extend. The teeth are threaded throughout their length and are threadedly fitted to be screwed through said bosses on the beam. The teeth are preferably formed of a round bar steel and are In the full sized machine which we have constructed, and successfully operated, we have found, that teeth an inch in diameter threaded throughout their length, and projecting an inch or more beyond the face of the boss tears up the high places'in a very effective manner, especially in roads of long standing, where the surface is hard and rocky.

l/Ve have found, however, that a thicker rod, whether square or round, would not operate as efficiently as a rod of smaller size. Obviously, for Work of this nature the minimum size of the rod is limited because of its tendency to bend under the strain. We have used inch rods without the boss 50 on the under face of the beam, and found a tendency for theI rods to bend under severe conditions, unless the projection of the tooth below the beam was limited to approximately an inch. This, however, afforded insufficient clearance between the beam and the 'planed surface. In order to enable us to use a rod of small diameter and still secure the clearance between the beam and the planer surface, we have provided the boss 50, and we have found that a projection of an inch or less beyond the under face of the boss is suiiicientfor practically all conditions. We also, found that the conic bosses, break away the sides of the ragged groove which the tooth plows in the surface of the road, somewhat after the manner shown in Figure 16, and that the tooth no longer tends to bend.

Thus, we have found that the boss not only prevents the teeth from bending, and permits a tooth of smaller cross section to be used, but also acts as a buffer, to rip Vup the Vedges of the grooves made by the teeth.

After planing a mile of road we found that the teeth wore ofil at the ends to approximately the angle, indicated in Figure 13, the machine having been driven in the direction indicated by the arrow 52. Obviously, when the machine is operated in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow 53, the tooth is automaticallyA sharpened for the occasion, as the clearance is in the proper direction. Thus, we have found, that the teeth have worn uniformly in both directions, thereby requiring no sharpening whatever at any time, until the entire length of the tooth has been worn away. A new tooth is then easily and quickly substituted. This is a very important feature of my invention, as it involves a reduced cost of llO 1,5e3,77e f 8 maintenance, and has provedmuch more satisfactory and eilicient in planing a roadthan have sharpened picks which are sometimes used in machines of this class.`

Our improved teeth lare made of tough steel and are properly case Vhardened and are cheap of construction.

several beams in a manner, as to assign to each individual tooth an unplaned portion of the road. This we accomplish by disposing the teeth on the several beams in alternating relation. In Figure 2, the lines Z), c, d, e, f and g indicate the lines of travel and the first six teeth counting from the right hand side rail 1. Thus, b represents .the line of travel of the first tooth in the rear cross beam 3, c the first tooth in cross beam 3, al the first tooth in theforward cross beam 3, e, thelirst tooth of the cross beam 3, if the second tooth in the rear cross beam 3, g the second tooth in the cross beam 3, and so on across the entire width of the machine.

The teeth on each beam as shown are staggered, whereby the broken material is enabled to escape between `the bosses as indicated `by the arrows in Figure 2.1

As shown in Figure 9, the scraper blades 38 extend only to the outer tooth b of the rear cross beam. A suitable draw chain 58, provided with hooks 59, whereby it may be attached to either end of the side members, is provided. Thus, in operation the machine may be transported when the parts are in the position shown in Figure 3. When it is properly positioned on the road for action, the planer frame is lowered until it rests upon the ground, the truck trailing as will be hereinafter described.

Then a particularly hard and tough portion of the road is encountered, the truck may be elevated, as described in the foregoing so as to bear down upon the planer frame to apply greater downward pressure on the teeth. Then the end of the run is arrived at, the chain is shifted to the opposite end of the machine when it is again ready for action.

The rectangular spaces or openings D and D, formed at opposite ends of the frame, between the cross beams, thevv scraper blades, and the side rails 1, constitute enclosures, wherein accumulate the scrapings and the larger particles planed from road surface. The larger stones, which cannotpass under the cross beam, accumulate in the enclosure D, while the smaller particles such as gravel, will accumulate in the enclosure D.

These accumulations will be automatically distributed inasmuch as the material will fall into the low places in the road, such as deep wheel ruts and wash-outs, while the Scrapers will level these spots to render the surface` uniform. If thev accumulation in y The teeth are` dis-v tributed widthwise of the machine upon the may be raised by means of the levers 43, y

whereby the gravel may be deposited,l in, an

orderly manner in the road-to be'removed later.y A f By distributing the teeth approximately symmetrical about the fcenter of the machine, the work to be done bythe tractor, to effect a planing operation, lis lrendered uniform for both directions of travel. By the use of the associated fulcrumed levers 8 and 13, the leverage is compounded, to render the raising mechanism C` (which may be termed a'winch) easy of operation," said leversvconstituting vertically yieldable connections between the truck and frame.

By' disposing the teeth substantially at right angles to the fiat underside of the frame, the teeth will alwaysl present, initially upon the return trip, a cutting edge that is worn to approximately the same angular clearance, as is best shown in Fig. 13.

By being able to use a tooth ofsmall cross section we are enabled to cut asphalt roads in fairly warm weather when the asphalt is` quite sticky.- The small diameter of the` teeth prevents-accumulation of the soft asphalt; and appears to strip off in chunks when it 'accumulated-which would not be the" case in a tooth vof large diameter.

We claim: Y

1. lA road planer, comprising elongated planing frame, adapted to be drawn lengthwise over the ground to effect a planing operation, a truck support for said frame located intermediate the ends thereof, and having vertically yielding connections with the frame, a winch operatively connected to said yielding connections and the frame whereby when said winch is actuated the frame may be bodily elevated and lowered, and means for supporting the winch on the plailzform to enable the latter to move therewit 2. In a road planer, the combination with an elongated planing frame adapted to be dragged lengthwise over the ground to effectv a planing operation; of a truck normally forming the soley rolling support for said frame and being located' intermediate the ends thereof and having vertically yielding connections with the frame, means operatively connected with said yielding connections and said frame for arbitrarily lower- .ing the latter bodily into engagement with the ground to be wholly supported thereon,

ngto the ground, for moving said frame bodily vertically, and separate groups of cutting teeth extending from the underside vor said frame and laterally across the latter, saidgroups being distributed symmetrically on said frame With respect to said means.

4. A road planer, comprising, in part, an oblong frame adapted to be drawn length- Wise over the ground to effect a planing operation, separate kgroups of cutting teethon the underside of said frame, said groups being distributed symmetrically about a transverse axis located approximately mid- Way betWeenthe ends of said frame, and a scraper blade at each end of the frame for scraping theroad in the trail of said teeth, said scraper blades having yielding connections with the framewhereby they are rendered operative to scrape, only when the frame is dravvn in one direction.

5. A road planer, comprising in part, a frame having a flat underside, adapted to be drawn lengthwise in either direction over the ground to effectfa planing operation, and cutting teeth extending from vthe underside of the frame intov engagement with the ground, each of said teeth consisting of a bar screw-threaded throughout its length travel of the frame.

6. A road planer, comprising in part, an oblong planing iframe having flat underside adapted to be drawn over the ground to ell'ect a .planing operation, cutting teeth extending from the under side of the frame into engagement with the ground, Veach of said teeth consisting of a rod of relatively small cross section, and having mounting on said frame, whereby it may be arbitrarily gradually moved toward the ground, and a boss Jfor each tooth yextending rigidly below the under side of the frame and-firmly surrounding-'the tooth to Areini'orcethe lattei1 against bending, whereby to enable Ythe use of a tooth of relatively small cross section.

In testimony Whereoiil We affix our signatures.

RALPH BROWN SON. THEODORE A. BROVVNSON. 

